A family vacation dredges up a boatload of trouble in the next witty, insightful novel from the acclaimed author of The Intermission.“An irresistible drama filled with humor and heart-tugging emotion about family and what it means to belong. I absolutely adore Friedland’s warm, witty writing!”—Emily Giffin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of All We Ever WantedSink or swim. Or at least that’s … Wanted
Sink or swim. Or at least that’s what Annette Feldman tells herself when she books a cruise for her entire family. It’s been over a decade since the Feldman clan has spent more than twenty-four hours under the same roof, but Annette is determined to celebrate her seventieth birthday the right way. Just this once, they are going to behave like an actual family.
Too bad her kids didn’t get the memo.
Between the troublesome family secrets, old sibling rivalries, and her two teenage grandkids, Annette’s birthday vacation is looking more and more like the perfect storm. Adrift together on the open seas, the Feldmans will each face the truths they’ve been ignoring—and learn that the people they once thought most likely to sink them are actually the ones who help them stay afloat.
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I thought it was a comedy; hardly, it was a story about a family on a cruise with all their issues, hurts and sorrows. It did hold my interest, but certainly not what I expected from the reviews. If you are looking to laugh, this is not your story.
A family, big secrets, and a cruise. – what could possibly go wrong? Well, just about everything. When Annette and David pay for their grown children and their grandkids to join them on a cruise for Annette’s 70th birthday, we see a family separated by geography, busyness, judgements, and big secrets. As they navigate their relationships with each other, we get to know the characters and what they are hiding. Finally it all comes to a head in a very public way – certain disaster. But instead, the love and importance of family begins to bring healing.
I enjoyed the story and fond it realistic, if just a little outlandish at times. I wanted to love the book, but for me it was just pretty good. Maybe I was just ready for the family drama to end since I had enough family drama of my own to deal with. It’s a good beach read that does end with hope and acceptance.
Family dysfunction at its best! Each of the characters are pretty messed up and you wonder how they will survive the cruise. After some hilarious moments, reality kicks in and they all have to face their issues. A quick read!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one on audible. The narration was perfect and the book was witty and had a lot of humor that many of us can relate to when it comes to family. It was a fun listen and one I will be wanting to listen to again in the future.
All aboard! The Floating Feldmans is for everyone who’s ever thought their family is absolutely crazy … but loves them anyway. Sibling rivalries and skeletons in the closet all come to a head in this fun, quirky family saga.
An intelligent, insightful, touching novel about the secrets we keep and the family that loves us anyway.
The Floating Feldmans was a blast; funny, moving, and immensely readable. Friedland’s all-you-can-eat buffet of quirky characters walk right off the page and into your heart.
Such a smart, honest look at the modern American family. Elyssa Friedland has written a book that feels both up-to-the-minute contemporary and, somehow, absolutely timeless.
Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “The Floating Feldmans” by Elyssa Friedland, Penguin Random House, July 23, 2019
Elyssa Friedland, Author of “The Floating Feldmans” has written a witty, entertaining, and emotional novel. The Genres for this story are Domestic Fiction, Humor, and Women’s Fiction. The author describes her dysfunctional cast of characters as complex, and complicated, each having their own set of problems and secrets.
Annette Feldman is going to be 70 and has decided that she wants the whole family to go on a cruise. The Feldmans don’t communicate well on the land, so you can imagine what will happen at sea. They all will need their life preservers, that is for sure!! Not only is there a lack of communication, but every Feldman also seems to have a secret.
There is a touch of satire, and I appreciate that the author discusses the importance of family, honesty, communication, emotional support and love. I recommend this amusing and thought-provoking story! Happy Reading!!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
You really will want to meet the Floating Feldmans. Let’s start with David & Annette, the matriarch and patriarch. The Feldman family is not exactly a close family unit, which weighs heavily on Annette. So, for her 70th birthday, she decides it would be nice to take their family on a Caribbean cruise. Their daughter, Elise, packs up her husband, Mitch, and their two teenagers, Rachel and Darius. Their son, Freddy, brings along his much younger girlfriend. As you begin reading, you really don’t like any of these characters. Perhaps with the exception of Mitch, who is a good-natured guy, no one seems to like themselves, much less each other. But anchors aweigh, and the Feldmans are forced to spend time with each other. The story unfolds from everyone’s point of view, so we see both perspectives to the storylines:
Parent and child relationships: Annette desperately wants her family closer. To give her credit, what mother hasn’t made mistakes? And all she has ever wanted for her children is the best. Meanwhile, Elise is dealing with the loss of being everyone’s caretaker as her last child leaves the nest. Freddy has always been a bit of a drifter, so how does he explain how he is now a mega-successful businessman, albeit in a legitimate business but one his family might not approve.
Sibling rivalries: Elise & Freddy and Rachel & Darius each come to terms with their jealousies of each other.
Aging: David & Annette have always had a great marriage, but serious illness means a power shift. Rachel & Darius also are coming of age, and the transition to adulthood isn’t always smooth.
Secrets: Everyone has a secret, and they soon learn sometimes it’s easier to tell the truth.
The book is a great mix of humor, insight, wisdom and confidence that though things may never be perfect, they can be better. Thoroughly enjoyed it and I highly recommend it.
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A fun read that makes you think about family interactions and laugh out loud. Would you go on a cruise as an adult with your parents? Think of all the zany things that can happen and multiple by a thousand! A great summer read. Can’t wait to read more by Elyssa Friedland. Pre-order this one today!
The Feldmans’ matriarch Annette has organized a cruise for her family for her 70th Birthday, not that she celebrates birthdays, because a woman never tells her age. But, a last hoorah so to speak because her husband David is dying. The family doesn’t get together much, and so this is their chance to catch up on everything they’ve missed. But this get together doesn’t go as planned, in fact, it spectacularly bombs, and this is the joy of The Floating Feldmans.
The story was told in alternating viewpoints, mainly Elise’s, but also Freddy’s, and Annettes. We have Elise, her husband, and her two children. I didn’t like Elise from the start, she just seemed too uppity for me. But then her dirty secret started to reveal itself, her addiction to shopping, and it made her a bit more normal in my eyes. While I didn’t like her, she made a good, unlikable character.
Freddy was a good guy and I liked him from the start. He didn’t want to end up like his family, and he didn’t want to be the lost cause they had always declared of him. So turning your life around and become a multi-millionaire seems like just the way to do it. Only his family doesn’t know of his fortune and how he made it.
This was a fun read for me, I liked the characters, both likable and not, and I liked the storyline. I knew from the blurb that things were going to go spectacularly wrong, and they did. A large portion of the book was setting up our characters, and I think the author did it well because it was a more complete storyline. There were amusing parts, but it wasn’t the hilarity I was expecting from the genre it was labeled. But I don’t think that detracts from how good the book is. A very enjoyable read.